Jim and Laura
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Posts posted by Jim and Laura
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PRAYERS and LOVE to all in the adopttion triad! And YAY!!! for another toddler adoption. If you have any questions/concerns about the transition and growing your relationship with his first family PLEASE do not hesitate to ask ...... we are 3.5 years into the placement of Victor and Julie and life with these two is amazing.
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I have been thinking about all of you and praying for you this morning. Brings back so many memories for me (all positive). Seeing the dry erase board note brought tears to my eyes. I will check in with you in a few days...and we will be in NOLA the first weekend in November for a cousins wedding and would love to find time to cross the lake and visit!
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Whooooo hooooo! What a whirlwind. Praying for all who love this sweet girl and for the testimony to letting go and letting God...cause he is good. ALL THE TIME!
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We Skyped with Victor and Julie's bps for the first time today. It went SO well. The kids were much more engaged in the conversation and you could tell it meant alot to Stacey and David! Julie said her ABCs for them and Victor read them a book....even held the book so they could see the pics!
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Congrats for your first day. Prayers for all as they adjust.
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Prayers for all who love this little bunny. If we can help in any way...let us know. As we are on the countdown to finalization this placement brings tears to my eyes as I think back to that day and precious little 2 1/2 year old who came into our lives thanks to Abrazo and her very loving first family.
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This person was not worth explaining it to. When we were placed with Alexander she also made a point of telling one of our friends that it was not fair that I did not gain wait and go through labor.
Yep, Jerk.
I had a person tell me "Oh, you're taking the easy way" when I told her of our plans to adopt. Since she obviously had no clue what we had been through physically, emotionally or financially while undergoing fertility treatments, I just bit my tongue, smiled and said "well bless your heart" (which is Southern for, jerk or any other term a nice Southern lady doesn't said out loud).
Lisa
The people who say things like that are SO CLUELESS. I wouold just say "I can see how you might think that, but you have no idea how difficult adoption can be. Many people can have kids, but you must be QUALIFIED to adopt."
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Beth - would you please share how you started this process. Thanks!
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We filed our 2010 tax return with 2 adoptions on it (expenses from collin's and parker's adoptions) and we had ZERO issues getting our full refund in like 4 weeks after paper mailing our tax return (we actually got our refund faster than the IRS said we would). I am sure it didn't hurt that I am a tax CPA and am meticulous about all the details on my tax return (if there are any small issues on your return the IRS will question whether there are big issues as well and review your return with greater scrutiny) but either way I did not have to mail in receipts or copies of checks or any explanations with our intial filing (though I certainly have all of it on hand if the IRS asked for it at any point). I did include copies of final adoption decrees for both kids (official copies with original stamps - these were not our originals but extra official copies we had on hand) as per the IRS instructions.
As always anything you mail to the IRS send using some kind of trackable mail or package service so you have proof of mailing and delivery confirmation.
When in doubt seek the advice of a CPA.
Our social worker in SC has put us in touch with a CPA who has experience with adoption tax credit and has filed quite a few. This CPA also does our social worker's business taxes....
I am clinging to her and hope it will make the process MUCH easier (taxes TERRIFY me)
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I said I was through but here is the P.S. This document from the IRS indicates the expenses for 2010 and 2011 are refundable. It is also a good review of what the code states. It was reviewed and updated in Dec 2011. I am going to take an Aleve now and leave the rest to our numbers gal.
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Jenni - and other - thought this might be of interest for you given that the first child was not the one God had intended to be in your family.
Eligible expenses must be "directly related" to the adoption of an eligible child. This may include adoption fees, legal fees, and court costs. Expenses for a failed adoption might qualify for the credit if followed by a successful adoption, but the two adoption efforts would be considered as one adoption and subject to the dollar limit per eligible child. The editors of JK Lasser's Your Income Tax advise.
It is all confusing...but I do know those in the TIKLV group can claim the initial application, orientation, pre-adoption education and escrow fees. Also included would be travel and lodging for the orientation. This is because all of this occurs in 2010 and for nonfinalized adoptions you claim the following year. As I am not a CPA or expert by any means - I am signing out on this topic!
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The second os a video but older......
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Ok - I am confused.....but this was from the IRS site ( http://www.irs.gov/newsroom/article/0,,id=220809,00.html ) - updated 1/3/2012. Spotlights the need for an experienced CPA!
Adoption Credit
The Affordable Care Act raises the maximum adoption credit to $13,360 per child, up from $13,170 in 2010 and $12,150 in 2009. The adoption tax credit is refundable for tax year 2011, meaning that eligible taxpayers can get it even if they owe no tax for that year. In general, the credit is based on the reasonable and necessary expenses related to a legal adoption, including adoption fees, court costs, attorney’s fees and travel expenses. Income limits and other special rules apply. In addition to attaching Form 8839, Qualified Adoption Expenses (see instructions), eligible taxpayers must include with their 2011 paper tax return one or more adoption-related documents to avoid delaying their refund. Taxpayers may also be asked, after filing their returns, to substantiate any qualified adoption expenses they paid.
For other information, see our news release, tax tip, questions and answers, flyer, Notice 2010-66, Revenue Procedure 2010-31, Revenue Procedure 2010-35 and Revenue Procedure 2011-52.
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Jenn...first - I LOVE your new profile pic. LOVE LOVE LOVE!!!!!
Our adoption homestudy agency here put us in touch with a CPA in Charleston who has experience with adoption tax laws. According to her, we are able to claim our adoption expenses from 2010 even though the adoption is not finalized. So...travel and application and education/escrow fees look like they will qualify. I surely hope so so we can pay off some debt and sock some away for the Disney Fund :-))))))). She said that the IRS frequently kicks the request back as denied....and that you have to jump through some hoops to please them but they eventually will approve it. That said I would strongly recommend enlisting the help of someone who has experience with this. Good luck everyone.
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Word of advice..when you finish your profile go to your local Kinkos, etc and ask them to print them (the 10 required). You can bring them on a jump drive or email it to them. I would ask them how they prefer it. It is a more expensive... BUT it comes out SOOOOO much better. We wasted money on trying to make color copies and they were not that great.
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My heart is often heavy because I know that there are family members who do not know in our situation. I support S and D in their decision but sometimes I wonder how they would felt if they knew and how to handle it as Victor gets older.
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Thanks for this! We all need to be reminded and in our case it has been difficult to get used to calling Victor and Julie's biological parents because it did not seem right. Like it denied them recognition of the time they had with them before they made an adoption plan.
On another note I feel that we all have a responsibility to our children to correct poor language. I clearly remember being with S and D and the kids at an preplacement appt and the receptionist stating "Oh you are the ones giving up your kids for adoption." Made my blood boil and I felt immediately protective of the kids and of S and D. What a punch in the stomach for them. Hear it and correct it...nicely ... but ignore it and you condone it ... and guarantee its continuance!
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I am so happy for all the couples who are seeing their dreams come true and those who are anxiously making decisions and waiting. Your lives are about to change and be enriched in ways you might have never thought possible. Hugs to all from Team Rogers!
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Andrea - totally agree. In the day to day you are aware of these issues in the back of your mind ... but the articles that Elizabeth posted yesterday bring them to the forefront and serve as reminders for us....reminders that we must work on these issues within ourselves and support our children by recognizing how our behavior impacts their adjustment to us. It is especially important for me with Victor....and I am writing post-it reminders to myself. Hugs to the Blakes!
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Amazing article ... thank you for sharing!
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God is smiling as his plan unfolds. HUGE tears of joy for Jenni and Mike!!! And heartfelt prayers for D and J....may they have peace in their hearts that they made the most selfless decision for their son and that he will be a part of their life when they are ready...and will be loved beyond measure.
Love the name Colin. But he really wanted you to name him Laura after me :-)
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Welcome sweet baby GIRL! Julie is happy no longer be the only Tikkie chickette!
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We just wanted to check in and see how everyone is doing! We recently sent in our application and we are waiting patiently (hah!). There has not been a post in this area for some time...so we wanted to say hello and wondering how everyone is holding up during this process!
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THANK YOU SO MUCH for sharing that!
Why I love open adoption.
The article "A Stroll into the Possible"http://mymindonpaper.wordpress.com/
Heather
Baby Announcements 2014
in New Arrivals
Posted · Edited by Jim and Laura
We brought Victor home at 5 years 3 months (along with his little sis Julie) he will be 9 next month. I am thrilled to see another Abrazo family grow this way. Please let me know if you need to talk or if you want to ask about our journey thus far. We are here. Congrats and love to all in her great big family!